An ISIS-affiliated group has released footage which appears to show a German hostage being beheaded in the Philippines

Who are Abu Sayyaf?

Abu Sayyaf is an Islamic fundamentalist terror group, based in the Philippines.

It was founded in 1991 and is based around the southwestern area of the Philippines which has been blighted by terror attacks.

Muslim groups in the area – known as The Moro – have been fighting for the area to become an independent Islamic province for decades.

While the terror group work in the area and carry out assassinations and kidnappings, as well as bombings, the US State Department say that “the goals of the group appear to have vacillated over time between criminal objectives and a more ideological intent”.